# GHG Protocol: the corporate emissions accounting standard in brief

> A brief guide to the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard: principles, boundaries, Scopes 1–3, the base year, the related Scope 2 and Scope 3 standards, and the revision due by 2027.

Source: https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/en/kb/ghg-protocol

The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (2004 edition) is the most widely used standard in the world for corporate greenhouse gas accounting and reporting. It sets the principles of an inventory, the rules for drawing organizational and operational boundaries, the split of emissions into Scopes 1, 2 and 3, the procedure for choosing a base year, and the requirements for the report. Disclosure programs, banks, buyers and most national reporting systems build on it.

## The GHG Protocol family of standards

| Document | Year | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate Standard | 2004 | An organization's emissions inventory; Scopes 1 and 2 are mandatory |
| Scope 2 Guidance | 2015 | Two methods for calculating Scope 2: location-based and market-based |
| Scope 3 Standard | 2011 | 15 categories of value chain emissions |
| Project Protocol | 2005 | Quantifying emission reductions from projects |

The Corporate Standard sets out what to account for and how; the supplementary documents go into detail on specific areas.

## Five accounting principles

An inventory rests on five principles:

- **relevance** — the report reflects the company's emissions and supports decision-making;
- **completeness** — all sources within the chosen boundaries are covered, and any exclusions are justified;
- **consistency** — methods are comparable over time, and changes are disclosed;
- **transparency** — assumptions, data sources and methodologies are documented;
- **accuracy** — there are no systematic errors, and uncertainty is reduced as far as practicable.

## Key steps under the standard

1. **Organizational boundaries** — choose the operational control, financial control or equity share approach. For details, see [Organizational boundaries](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/en/kb/organizational-boundaries).
2. **Operational boundaries** — assign sources to Scopes 1, 2 and 3; see [Scopes 1, 2 and 3](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/en/kb/scope-1-2-3).
3. **Base year** — choose the year for comparison and a recalculation policy.
4. **Calculation** — collect activity data, select emission factors and convert all gases to CO₂e.
5. **Quality management** — data checks, documentation and internal controls.
6. **Reporting** — disclose emissions by scope and by gas, along with methodologies, exclusions and changes.
7. **Verification** — voluntary, or at the request of report users.

## What must be disclosed

A minimum report under the Corporate Standard includes a description of the company and its boundaries, the reporting period, Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reported separately, data by gas, the base year and any recalculations, the methodologies and emission factors used, and excluded sources with a justification. The standard treats Scope 3 as optional, but report users increasingly expect it. For Scope 2, report the results under the methods of the [Scope 2 Guidance](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/en/kb/scope-2-methods).

## Revision of the standards

The GHG Protocol is revising its standards. A consolidated Scope 2 text was expected by mid-2026, and the full updated Corporate Standard package by the end of 2027. New requirements for the Scope 2 market-based method (hourly and geographic matching) are being phased in and mainly affect voluntary claims about “clean” energy. Track the status of each document on the [regulatory map](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/en/kb/documents). The current editions apply until the new ones are published.

## GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1

The two documents share the same logic: boundaries, sources, CO₂e and principles. ISO 14064-1:2018 is an international standard with more formal requirements and a different grouping of indirect emissions, which makes it convenient for verification by certification bodies. For a comparison, see [ISO 14064-1](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/en/kb/iso-14064-1).

## How it works in the platform

GHG accounting in the platform follows the logic of the Corporate Standard:

- the accounting boundaries are defined by the organization's [facilities](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/objects): each site is added separately with the [new facility](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/objects/new) wizard;
- on the [Data entry](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/data-entry) screen, data is entered month by month for each facility and split into Scopes 1, 2 and 3; for Scope 2, the platform shows both results under the Scope 2 Guidance, labeled “Location-based” and “Market-based”;
- Scope 3 covers categories 1–14, each with a choice of calculation method, while category 15 (Investments) is not part of GHG accounting and will be handled by a separate service;
- emission factors and methodologies come from the platform's reference catalog (IPCC 2006, DESNZ and others), and every record shows the methodology applied;
- company totals by year appear in [GHG analytics](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/ghg), and the administrator creates the annual company report in DOCX and PDF on the organization's GHG page (accessed from [Facilities](https://7g.carbonplatform.asia/objects)).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the GHG Protocol a law?

No, it is a voluntary standard. But many reporting programs, banks and regulators refer to it, so in practice it serves as the common language of emissions accounting.

### Which edition of the Corporate Standard is current?

The 2004 edition applies, supplemented by the Scope 2 Guidance (2015) and the Scope 3 Standard (2011). An updated package is expected by the end of 2027.

### Is the GHG Protocol suitable for climate projects?

Projects have a separate document, the GHG Protocol Project Protocol (2005), which remains in effect. The corporate standard is designed for an organization's inventory, not for calculating reductions from a project.